So Many, But Which One?????

@Liz the pot

Hello LizThePot, it has been some time and I hope you are as well as ever!

Twenty-seven years ago, our builders, bewilderingly, dug up some twenty square meters of the lawn nearest the house (out of a total of 83 square meters of lawn), some thirty centimetres deep (they had confused us with another site and got their notes mixed up). The foreman ordered them to refill the void; to save time and labour (unbeknown to us) they mixed the earth with a lot of stones and rubble; this has caused frustration ever since.

I have decided – finally – to take the bull by the horns and dig the whole lot up, de-stone it, turn the earth over with a fork, level it, and order the best quality topsoil prior to reseeding with bents and fescues (I have always wanted a so-called "Luxury Lawn" and I will now try for one if it's the last thing I do!).

Searching the net, I had settled for “Rolawn Turf and Lawn Seeding Topsoil” – Rolawn tell me I need sixteen 500-litre bags – but I now discover that this product is receiving a lot of terrible reviews on Trust Pilot (see below).

Could you suggest a really good quality topsoil for this project?

Many thanks and best regards,

LawnAndOrder




Rolawn Limited Reviews

87 • Bad

Reviews

1.5

87 total

5-star - 14%

4-star - 3%

3-star - 1%

2-star - 14%

1-star – 68%

 

I wouldn't be paying so much for a essential top soil with added sand and a little bit of pre turf fertiliser, you can add theses yourself if you wish to. Go with a local turf supplier they should do pre turf graded top soil for half the price and it will probably be in a builders ton bag at around 600litres.

How much are you lifting the lawn? It's a lot of top soil you are after. you want at least about 15cm of good quality soil for ornamental lawns.

Who seed are you using aswell?

 

My OH used this product when relaying our front lawn a few years ago. Speaking as the person charged with transferring the stuff from the enormous bag to a wheelbarrow, I can say that personally I thought it was good quality.

As well as Trustpilot, you can also take a look at Feefo for reviews, these seem to be more positive, but as usual with these things, it is all subjective.

Turf & Lawn Seeding Topsoil 730L Bulk Bag Reviews | Rolawn Reviews | Feefo

@Perki 's suggestion is a good one if you can find a local supplier and can see the product for yourself before ordering a large quantity.

 

I've bought topsoil from CPA Horticulture on several occasions.
I also buy manure from them most years.
I've always been very happy with their products.

I had 25 ton topsoil delivered about 10yrs ago and it was completely stone-free. Not even any grit or gravel in it.
I bought the British Sugar Landscape 20mm. It comprises the silt that is washed off from sugar beets when they're harvested and then has sharp sand mixed with it.
Topsoil Suppliers, Bulk Deliveries Nationwide

This is a 20ton load-

Almost enough to bury both my neighbours

 

@gks

Hello,
Following shiney's post, above, do you have any idea how LizThePot is?
Very much hoping he is fine - please give him my regards if you are in touch.
Many thanks,
LAO

 

@shiney
Thank you! and thank you for suggesting gks whom I have contacted. You are well, I trust! Best.

@Perki
I'll be lifting around 30cm of lawn and stones, discard the stones for crock, sift the soil, and then cover with some 15 cm of new topsoil (because I think the existing soil is rather exhausted).

The seeds I'll get from Johnsons; this was recommended recently and has given me very, very good and quick results.

@AnniD
Those reviews, added to the cost compared with others have made me lose my enthusiasm for Rolawn.

@Pete8
I must say I do like the look of Topsoil Suppliers and your soil certainly looks great in terms of fineness and colour. Also, their price works out at 14p/litre, as opposed to 24p/litre from Rolawn.

@JWK
As mentioned above, I will reuse the existing soil. I used to have a wonderful heavy-duty sieve, now defunct. What seems to be available now pales in comparison. Can you suggbest a dood source for a large, heavy-duty sieve.

Many thanks to all for excellent suggestions!

 

As mentioned earlier, I am going to dig up a fork's depth (inside measurement of prongs=28cm). But digging up old rough soil is one thing, levelling quite another; when you walk over what you've just dug and raked, you create depressions, and the work is no longer level, that's what's depressing.

Your suggestion of 15cm of good topsoil sounds good; if my calculations are right, for some 83m2, that would require 12,450 litres which, at 700l/bag at CPA Horticulture, would be about 18 bags.

Looking at their Website, I see what they call “British Sugar Landscape 20mm” … would you say that's better than their “General purpose Topsoil”?

Another question: what would be the easiest way to remove the turf (prior to digging) without resorting to a machine?

 

Presidents DO NOT admit to that!!!

 

That will depend on what I find in there.

This is how this state of affairs has arisen: apart from the already related story of the rubble buried by the builders, a further “incident” makes me want to replace the lawn. A few years ago, when my old trusted Atco gave up the ghost, I offered it (for parts) to the owner of an excellent company who had installed some metal edgings all around my lawn. He didn’t want the old knackered mower, but his business partner did and asked me how much I wanted for it. I said I couldn’t really charge because it would only be good for spares but that I would be happy to accept a big bag of good quality grass seeds. The deal was done.

It was only when I got to the bottom of the bag that a label revealed that the mix was a “Utility” mix - nothing wrong with that, but - containing a large proportion of Poa Annua. I had always thought (ans still do) that PA is the devil incarnate, about as welcome in a lawn as would be Beelzebub in a baptismal font. It created absolute havoc; the blooming blighters have ever since been everywhere!

So much for my ignorance in recognising grass seeds: I now realise that Poa annua is a bona fide constituent of “Utility Lawn Grasses” (below).

 

What sort of soil do you already have @LawnAndOrder loam or clay over loam etc ? My back lawn had stone and concrete underneath I just removed the big bits and rotavated and releveled .

I'd personally hire a turf cutting machine it probably be about £50 ( not sure on London prices ) they aren't difficult to use. The only over way is with a spade which is rather backbreaking , cut it into strips and then roll it up and stack the turf in a corner somewhere if you have space.

POA is the devil incarnated but they isn't much you can do to stop it , your new lawn like mine will eventually get invaded with POA and it will stand out more against fescue / bent grass its a major problem for greenkeepers on the putting greens , some even cultivate the POA and just have that as the Green seen as it tolerates cutting down to 4-5+mm.

I hope you realise how much work and maintenance a fescue / bent lawn will entail, lawn diseases like red thread can make a fescue lawn look a right mess . I am going to redo my back lawn this summer/autumn I've still got a bag of barenburg fesce/bents mix so I'll be using that but and redo it again in a few years time and go 100% dwarf rye which I advise you to do ( or with some dwarf rye in ) its much easier to look after little to no thatch / disease resistant / hardwearing and looks good to like Wimbledon 100% dwarf rye.

I haven't used British sugar landscape so can't comment on its quality but looks decent, I'd try and work with the soil you've already got first and then think if new soil is needed and how much.